Mercer Artist: Hannah Fancher, actress

It’s quite magical, really, to listen to her share the story of how she fell in love with her soulmate —  theater.

For Hannah Fancher, acting has always been the goal. She was lucky enough to discover her calling when she was in the fifth grade. After having seven roles in her elementary school’s production of Hamlet, she simply couldn’t stop. Since her Hamlet days, she has conquered roles in many different subgenres of theatre. Though some of her roles have been supporting, the majority have placed her in the spotlight.

“I like the spotlight roles … not really because everyone is looking at you, but because you can develop [the character] so much more,” says Fancher. But it’s clear that no matter the role, she’s happy just to be a part of a production.

Unlike many other leading ladies, Fancher has an interest in every aspect of the theatre realm. While she prefers to be on the stage, she has spent many a night working “behind the scenes.” Fancher often designs, builds, and paints sets and props. In addition, she has served as a student tech-director, worked with lighting and sound, dabbled in playwriting and directing, and trained in eight weapons of stage combat. She sings. She dances. What can’t she do?

But, even Achilles had a weak heel. Fancher, much like other performers, still battles with the unsettling nerves and butterflies that appear before showtime. As comfortable on stage as she is, she still gets embarrassed. She openly confesses to having stage fright and critiques herself by saying, “It holds me back as an actor.”

One thing that won’t hold her back is a lack of ambition. She is determined to be successful and refuses to entertain the possibility of failure. Her mission is to make herself as marketable and as well-rounded as possible for prospective companies. As a blonde, blue-eyed female actress, she knows she has to take every opportunity she can to make herself stand out from her competition. This is why she learns stage combat, takes art classes, and has a minor in business.

During her time here at Mercer, Fancher has had roles in productions of Tartuffe, “Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille” and Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” just to name a few. This month she will star in “A Flea in Her Ear” alongside her fellow Mercer Players. As a senior, Fancher only has a few more chances to perform with them before she begins her career as a professional actress.

As much as she loves live theatre, her dream job is to be a film star.

“Broadway would be awesome. Film would be better,” she says. “I like fantasy, mythical creatures and fairy tales, and a lot of that is hard to pull off in theatre. Theatre has its limitations. Film is limitless,” she also added.

While theatre may have its limitations, Hannah Fancher has none.
She says, “[I want] to conquer anything. To prove that I can do it.” With her talent and ambition, nothing is going to stop her from writing her own story.